Becoming the Wizard Rewrite
by harmonyliveson
Summary: After Pettigrew is caught and handed in at the end of POA; with Sirius' love, the love of an adopted family, the love of his friends new and old and his burgeoning love of Hermione, Harry grows into the wizard his parents knew he could be: a winner!
1. IntroductionPrologue

Harry Potter was excited, he had been able to set his godfather free just days ago with the help of his best friend Hermione. She had the foresight to stun Peter Pettigrew before putting him in ropes – that had been the clincher as Remus had transformed into his werewolf form and dropped Pettigrew, Sirius had transformed into Padfoot to chase him away whilst they made their way to the Headmaster's study with Pettigrew in tow. The headmaster called the head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones, who administered the truth serum therefore hearing the truth for the very first time. She immediately drew up Sirius' pardon and prepared a press announcement for the very next day. Just as she finished announcing these measures, Sirius arrived at the office in his dog form with a few cuts and scrapes, but alive and well.

Next followed a night-long dispute between Sirius, Dumbledore and Madam Bones about where he would live. Dumbledore was adamant that he had to return to the Dursleys so that he would be safe from other death eaters. Sirius was insisting he would be safe in a Potter property as it was unplottable and hidden to anyone not a Potter unless revealed by a Potter. Madam Bones agreed with this and also insisted that the Fidelius be cast as an additional security measure with Dumbledore as the secret keeper. In the end, Dumbledore stepped down and agreed with the others due to the fact that the law was against him. The others had the law on their side, whilst Dumbledore was only relying on goodwill and people's agreement to his plans.

This all leads to Harry's current position: he is sitting in the common room of Gryffindor House waiting for his two best friends to come down so that he can go to breakfast with them and tell them all about his summer plans. Harry had gone over to Gringotts yesterday with Sirius in order to find out what exactly the Potter inheritance entailed. They discovered an immense fortune which had not really surprised Sirius since he knew that the Potters were wealthy, but the extent of the wealth was truly staggering. Moreover, they discovered that there was an estate in southern France that was under a Goblin variation of the Fidelius and this particular property was ideal for what Sirius had in mind for Harry's summer. Harry was broken out of his musings by Hermione and Ron standing in front of him with inquisitive faces. Well Hermione had the inquisitive face as she had seen that Harry was a million miles away, whilst Ron was in his pre-breakfast routine: his eyes were glazed, he was rubbing his stomach and was dreaming of the meal to come.

"Come on Harry, let's go before bottomless pit here starts to leave a trail of drool all the way to the Great Hall."

Harry laughed and got up from the couch and fell in step with the other two listening to Hermione berate Ron for leaving the packing of his trunk to the last minute. As they neared the Great Hall, Ron's pace seemed to pick up as though the scent of the breakfast made him even more anxious to get there. Once they sat down, Harry started to explain what Sirius had in mind for him this summer, it wasn't a lot but it meant the world to Harry.

"Sirius is taking me away for the summer to an estate in southern France that belongs to my family. The Goblins have their own version of a charm that allows me to tell those I trust where the property is and those I haven't told would never be able to find it; it'd basically be invisible to them. Anyway, he's decided two things: first is that twelve years in Azkaban has done him no good so he is looking for sun and exercise to get back into prime 'skirt chasing' shape and he wants me to join. He tells me that I'm too pasty and too small and that would to me good. Secondly, he is going to make sure that I have fun, he remembers going there some summers with my dad and there are loads of activities that can be done."

"Apparently, the house-elves there have been maintaining the estate so that everything is modern and up to date. Now before you start on me Hermione, there is a contract between the House of Potter and the house-elves – as long as there remains an heir to the Potter family, they will continue to maintain the property thanks to a special vault set up by some relative of mine some 250 years or so ago. This contract allows the house-elves to live in peace and tranquillity there, whilst receiving payment for their services. The pay goes to a communal pot that each house-elf has access to within reason so that they may purchase themselves any food or clothes necessary."

"In order to maintain to maintain the estate, one of the house-elves can maintain for up to two hours the appearance of a human being in order to receive goods or deal with other people that are not aware of what house-elves are. My mum taught them how to drive and car and charmed some old 4x4 to be driven by them in their house-elf form so that they could ferry stuff about outside the estate."

Hermione was practically bouncing in her seat, at first, she had been appalled that her best friend's family owned house-elves, but s the explanation carried on, she became more and more excited about the implications of the relative freedom of the house-elves and the presence of a contract.

"Oh, this is wonderful Harry! This is a perfect example of what free house-elves can do…" she trailed off as she saw Harry hold his hand up.

"No Hermione, it is impossible for house-elves to remain alive if they are not bonded, you see, their magic feeds off the family or school with which they bonded. My house-elves, like the ones at Hogwarts, have magical contracts that assure them of the good behaviour of their owners. They are not slaves to humans, but they are slaves to their magic – magic is what keeps them enslaved to others, even Goblins have house-elves. It is an inherent part of their magic, life and being. You cannot break that bond until you dismiss them, which is as good as killing them unless they find another source for their magic. You want to focus on better conditions for house-elves like Dobby, then concentrate your efforts into a group to raise awareness of the contracts, but before you do, let me give you a book that explains the process of the bonding later. I got it out of my family vault."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, to be truthful, she hadn't expected such a well structured and thought out answer that would stall her argument. Harry, meanwhile, shook his head realising that he had gone off course.

"Now let's get back to what I was saying: Sirius wants me to have fun so I will, but I want you to join in as well, so I've organised for a VIP box at the final of this year's Quidditch World Cup that will be enough to seat you two, Hermione's parents, Sirius, 4 Weasleys, Remus and myself. The game starts on a Saturday afternoon, which means that your parents won't have to take time off if they want to come. I'll arrange transport, well Sirius will, not sure how but he said he could take care of it. So what do you say?"

Ron had actually stopped eating whilst Harry explained about this surprise. "Bloody hell mate! _("Language Ron!"_) Of course, I'm coming, there's no way I'm missing out on this, oh imagine the quidditch world cup final." Ron stopped talking as his face took on a dreamy quality whilst he thought of seeing his heroes in front of him in the flesh.

"Oh that's wonderful Harry, I'd love to come to see you of course, but I'll be able to show my parents something else of this world. Thank you thank you Harry." As she finished this, she hugged Harry extra hard.

Harry was uncomfortable for two reasons: first, everyone as staring at him as they noticed he was being hugged by his best friend, a girl. He could imagine the rumour mills starting already. Secondly, the hug made him aware that Hermione was nearly a year older than him and that girls started puberty earlier, so he could feel… shapes being pressed into him.

'Don't get me wrong, this is pleasant though. I didn't realise a body could so soft though.' Harry thought to himself as he returned the hug somewhat reluctant to let go of the odd sensations coursing through his teenage body. After letting go of each other, Harry and Hermione returned to their breakfast and started to chat with others around them. All in all, Harry was very excited about this summer. He could picture it already: a quiet summer having fun with someone who loved him, no Dursleys, no worrying at all, no more surprises this summer. Yep! Harry thought this summer is going to go very smoothly!

The rest of the morning went by very quickly, Hermione and Harry had finished packing so decided to sit together watching Ron pack frantically as he tried to make sure he had everything in his trunk. As that was going on, Remus arrived in the dorm to see if Harry needed any help. Seeing that Harry and Hermione were laughing at Ron's pathetic attempts to find everything, Remus pulled his wand out and used the summoning charm for Ron's belongings with a simple Accio Ron's sock or shoe. When that was done, he shrank Harry's trunk so that he could carry out and Sirius would enlarge when they reached Potter's Perpignan hideout.

The trio made their way to the Hogwarts express easily as Remus had cast featherweight charms that were permanent on the other two trunks. He would have shrunk Ron's, but apparently Mrs Weasley believed in hard work. Harry and Hermione couldn't quite work that one out since all wizards and witches used magic to cook, clean and tidy.

The trip went quickly as they weren't bothered by Malfoy at all this time. Harry knew why though; Sirius had disowned his two cousins that were still Blacks, which included Draco's mum and had made Harry his heir, which meant that Harry was now the heir to two Ancient and Noble families. Harry didn't quite understand why that stopped Malfoy only that it did. Apparently, Sirius would teach him the ins and outs of pureblood politics and etiquette so that he could words and not action to stop potential fights with others.

Coming through the barrier, Harry spotted Sirius straightaway, actually it was his bark of a laugh that got his attention. Sirius was standing next to a couple that were obviously muggles from their clothes and the fact they didn't 'feel' magical like Hermione or Sirius did. He approached Sirius who brightened immediately upon seeing his godson as well as Hermione, the girl who had made it possible for him to be free. He had greatly enjoyed speaking to her parents, they were intelligent, level-headed and fun to be around. As Harry came up to him, Sirius hugged him hard and whispered a greeting, letting go, he turned to face Hermione's parents to introduce Harry.

"Mike, Jane, let me introduce Harry, my godson; he's the one that has made everything possible with the help of Hermione."

Harry greeted Hermione's parents with handshakes to both, whilst Jane commented on how much he had grown in a year since they last met. Harry explained that Hermione was just talking to a girlfriend regarding some homework that needed to be done over the summer. Eventually, Hermione arrived and ran over to hug her parents dropping her trunk and Crookshanks behind. Harry smiled and went to pick those items up to bring them to her, which she thanked him for. Sirius and Hermione's parents having already made plans for a get together in France with Harry or Hermione's knowledge decided to make their way to their next destinations: the Grangers back to Oxford and Sirius and Harry to Gringotts. Hermione and Harry hugged goodbye and Hermione shyly slipped a kiss in much to hers and Harry's embarrassment. Sirius had a large grin on his face, whilst Hermione's parents were trying hard not to laugh with Mike also trying to look strict.

"Not a word Sirius, not a word if you know what's good for you." Harry said as he walked away to the taxi rank with as much dignity as he could with a red face. Sirius sniggered to himself as he walked behind Harry. Harry, even through his embarrassment, was worried what the Goblin healers would find within him – he could feel in his gut that there was something very wrong with him and his gut instinct had never let him down before. He could hope to all that was high and mighty that anything they found could be healed or at least sorted out.

**A.N:** This is the new story. I hope you like the intro, I will try to update at least once a week though I may be able to do more so over the next seven days.

I am going to try and write in a manner that allows for the reader to understand the mood of the protagonists. The story will get darker in the sense that Harry and Hermione's innocence will be stripped away at varying paces. Sirius is aware of the prophecy and its wording and will tell Harry this summer over a bottle of wine.

Hermione's character will be strong and independent; she will become much more self-assured of her abilities and body. The Flamels will make an appearance although there will be no family relation, however, it will become a family –like relationship.

Notes specifically for **canoncansodoff** and **pstibbons**: thanks for the comments and I hope you feel that I have taken the opinions on board.

Finally, I welcome all reviews, in fact I insist there be some!!! Please give me feedback – positive or not. Thanks also for the kind words regarding Julien – I am only touched by all this.


	2. Destroying and assimilating magics

Note: _thoughts_ and **_thoughts_**: more Gryffindor actions and thoughts inside Harry's mind in normal italic and his inner Slytherin in italic and bold. They will often argue.

* * *

Things were tense as Sirius and Harry flooed in from Gringotts to their new home. Harry didn't know what to think – the fact of the matter was that he had a piece of Voldemort in his head. This explained his pains when he was near Quirrell in first year, he had also worked out that the diary from the following year was also a horcrux as it had been a memory that could interact with its environment. He was also the only one who could defeat him – Sirius had come clean about the prophecy when the presence of the horcrux in Harry had been explained. Harry turned to Sirius.

"Padfoot, I need to go for a walk for a bit, I just… I need to clear my head." Harry said snorting at his lame attempt at a joke. Sirius nodded and let him go off; he then decided to let the house-elves show him around the house and show him the additions since he was last here, which included how to use electronics around magic.

God, what am I meant to do? Dumbledore couldn't defeat Voldemort all those years, so what chance do I have? You say that, but you did defeat him though when no-one else letcould. That was mum though, her love for me protected me. That's rubbish, how many mothers and fathers died protecting their children? Dozens of them, but you don't see any other Children-Who-Lived, do you? Something in you stopped him, something in you can defeat him. Think about it. I did kill Quirrell in first year by touching him when he was 'hosting' Voldemort. If it wasn't my mum's protection, then what was it? Dumbledore is always talking about love, but love is just an emotion… isn't it? So are anger and hatred, but they are needed to power certain spells. Emotions can change your strength, there is always some story of a muggle lifting a car to save their child trapped beneath it. Some call it adrenalin though, it gives your strength a boost. Or maybe, the love for that child is allowing a muggle to do some sort of accidental magic, magic that can only be accessed in dire situations. Think about it, why do muggleborns exist? What makes them different from their parents? The only difference must be that they can access their magic. That is what makes sense. 

Harry knew his internal debate was right, he also knew that he would need to let his Slytherin side out more in order to survive, that's what they do best: coming out of situations intact. The hat had told him he could be great and Slytherin could help to achieve that greatness. Maybe it was time to shed people's perceptions and become Harry Potter and not The-Boy-Who-Lived. He was always aware that he held back in class apart from Defence, because he was expected to excel in that class. His parents had been intelligent and hard-working; his mum was an expert in Charms, whilst his dad was talented in Transfiguration. Ollivander had told him what their wands had been useful in, but not his own. He just said it was basically the same as Voldemort, this evil, evil person who had been brilliant though. He had been Head Boy, he was talented, and he was charming to teachers as seen in the memory. He was supposed to be his equal, except he would have some power that Voldemort didn't.

I should talk to Dumbledore, he would know. Would he help though? He knew of the conditions at the Dursleys, yet he did nothing. He knew of the prophecy, but never once told you or has even offered to train you. He is powerful and intelligent, but he is only human – absolute power corrupts, remember that. What shall I do then as I need to find someone who knows the ins and outs of Voldemort, someone who maybe studied him, but more importantly, someone I can trust.

**No idea yet, sorry.**

Sirius was in the kitchen and was currently trying to work out the person that was his godson. No, that's not right; he was trying to work out how to help his godson. He remembered the day Harry was born like it was yesterday.

Flashback

Sirius was pacing the floor of the maternity ward in St Mungo's; he was nervous and he wasn't even the father. Lily was out there giving birth to the first junior Marauder, he had known as soon as Lily and James had hooked up that their child would be the first junior Marauder. It wouldn't be Remus' as werewolves are sterile and Peter… well Peter had been weird lately, scurrying about, not really seeing his friends that much. As for him, Sirius knew he hadn't met the right person yet, he was still waiting for the HER to come along, so he decided that practise makes perfect. His musings were caught short as James burst through the double doors with a gigantic grin on his face and his arms wide open.

"James Junior is born!" James exclaimed.

"We're not calling him James Junior or JJ, James! Bring Sirius and Remus in so they can meet our son."

James pulled both men by their arms, almost dislocating their shoulders, in his haste to show off his son. Sirius noticed that Lily was half-sitting, half-lying down with a small bundle in front of her. She looked tired, but she had never looked more radiant or care-free at that moment. Sirius couldn't help the smile that spread over his face and taking a peek at the bundle, the first thing he saw was ebony black hair all over the place.

"Dammit James, he got your hair! The poor kid, he's never going to look tidy!"

Still with that large grin, James could only ruffle his hair sheepishly. Sirius turned his attention back to the bundle and was surprised to see beautiful emerald-coloured eyes staring back at him. ("At least he got Lily's eyes.") A small hand came out of the blankets and reached for him, that was when Sirius knew he would never ever love anything more than this little innocent child in front of him. Looking at Lily for permission and seeing it, he gently reached over and held the small baby close to him. His brain seemed to have taken a holiday, there were no thoughts going through his mind at the moment. He could only 'feel', using his family's magic, he closed his eyes and stretched his senses out. James, Lily and Remus stood there watching Sirius 'feel' for the baby's aura and magical power, suddenly a burst of magic washed over them and it felt good, it felt peaceful almost like a phoenix song. Opening their eyes, they saw the small bundle start to emit a silver light that slowly spread out until it encompassed Sirius. It continued to grow and small tendrils reached out to them. When these tendrils of light touched James, Lily and Remus, they could feel the magic judging them; the four adults looked at each other, they had never heard of this happening to anyone before. Eventually, the light receded from them and pulled itself back into the blankets and a small yawn could be heard.

"Harry. His name is Harry, his magic told me. He will be strong; his magic is comfort, peace and life all in one. He will fight, he will win and he will become, become… I can't explain it, but he will be a Defeater."

Seeing that Sirius was coming out of trance, Remus rushed over and plucked Harry out of his arms so that Sirius could sit down in a chair and took deep breaths. Remus, on the other hand, could only stare with love at the small cub in front of him. The wolf inside of him almost knelt down to the green eyes that looked at him. He handed Harry back to James who went to sit next to Lily, they kissed and really looked like the loving family that nothing could tear apart. Their love would be eternal even in these dark times, they had to last, they just had to. The Marauders had found their heart at long last.

"Harry James Potter; that's what he'll be called." Lily said as she fought against a yawn.

End of Flashback

Sirius noticed that Harry was back and was looking at him with such sad eyes. The last time he saw that colour look at him so sadly was that night when he found Lily dead from defending Harry. Not knowing what else he could do, he closed the gap between them and opened his arms for Harry to found sanctuary and refuge within. He could try and shelter Harry from the harsh truths of life, but he knew that Harry had seen them already. If he couldn't defend, then he would help the fight back against these cruelties and he would fight to restore happiness in Harry's soul. He noticed that Harry was crying, he could feel the tears wetting his shirt, but he didn't mind it. In fact, he welcomed the tears; these emotions needed to be let out so that the fight back could start.

Harry felt the tears start to pool in his eyes and wanted to stop them. Dammit, he hadn't cried since he was three, why was he doing it now!! He let them fall though, he needed to let everything out, he needed to let out the mistreatment of the Dursleys, the unfairness of the wizarding world to make him a hero, his parents' death and the hole it left and finally his love for Sirius and his friends, even though he couldn't use that word – he didn't know how. Soon the sobs became harsher and they came deep within him as though his soul was being ripped out of him. His throat was hurting, his nose was running, but all he cared about was the fact that someone was holding him; someone else was being strong for once, he needed anchors so that he could let go of his strength and relax sometimes. He couldn't always be strong, he didn't want to always be strong, he wanted to be Harry, just a normal boy called Harry.

"Come on Harry, let's get you to bed. You need to take that potion tonight to burn that vile thing inside of you. I'll stay with you tonight to make sure everything goes well."

Harry nodded and followed Sirius up the stairs to the master bedroom. The potion had been given to him by the Goblin healers; it was simple, effective and painless. It would put him into an enchanted sleep for about six hours; it would attack the horcrux by forcing the dark magic to come into contact with the unicorn tears and blood from the potion. Together, they would force the remains of that person to move to the afterlife and disappear forever.

Harry got ready for bed and slipped under the duvet. He much preferred duvets to sheets, you could bury yourself away from everything and it made him feel safe. Harry was offered a potion which would help with the after-effects of the horcrux potion – this one had also been made by the healers, Harry drank it quickly. Accepting the second potion, Harry drank it and was surprised at the pleasant taste, but before he could voice this to Sirius, sleep claimed him as the potions started to work. Sirius sat there for the entire night watching his godson fidget as the horcrux was being evaporated or dissolved. When six hours passed, he sighed in relief, the wait was over, but decided to stay until Harry would wake up.

Unknown to Sirius and the Goblin healers, the potion linked the horcrux with the person it came from. Knowledge flowed between the two links; this meant that whilst Harry was being cleansed of that horcrux, the knowledge of the location of the remaining ones fled into his mind - all horcruxes were linked. Magic deemed this a fair exchange, the essence of goodness inside the unicorn ingredients and the dragon bile's need to fight the darkness within people assimilated this knowledge into Harry's mind to be hidden away until Harry's 14th birthday when he would come into his inheritance. The potion had never been used on a human before, therefore the Goblin healers did not know that the ingredients would become a part of Harry running through his veins with the phoenix tears and basilisk venom already there. Harry would become even more magical as a being, Goblins are magical beings, they need magic to live, strip a Goblin of his or her magic and they will die just like a house-elf, however, humans could and did live without magic within them, so the potion ingredients decided to combine to infuse Harry's body with magic. He would not be dependant on magic as other magical beings are, but he would grow into his magical affinity and sensitivity. His magic had just become purer, more magical in a sense. He would also receive four forms as an animagus. As the potion was painless and working on the horcrux, Voldemort never noticed what happened as he slept and he would never know what had transpired that night.

When Harry woke up the next morning, the first thing he saw was Sirius looking at him in a concerned, almost parental, way that warmed his heart.

"How do you feel?" Sirius asked.

"Good. Very good in fact. I feel light and free; I guess I never noticed how much of an emotional and physical weight it was on me." Harry answered as he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to relieve himself.

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that, it meant the potion had worked and he was free of Voldemort in his mind. He was surprised to see Harry running back out of the bathroom with a smile on his face.

"Look Sirius, no glasses! It somehow fixed my eyes."

Sirius decided to then look over Harry properly this morning. True, his glasses were gone leaving his eyes shining brightly – the girls were going to be loving those eyes – he seemed slightly more built up this morning and maybe a smidgen taller. The restorative potion he had given Harry yesterday obviously worked quickly.

"I'm glad Harry; the first potion I gave you last night was a Goblin restorative potion. It's a potion that was created to heal the Goblins that had been involved in battle and had been injured. It will basically cure all previous ailments over the course of the next seven days. That means any previous injuries such as broken arms or cuts will either be strengthened or disappear. I didn't tell you about it, because I wanted to surprise you with it – I hope you don't mind."

Harry didn't mind at all, in fact, he started babbling about he wasn't going to be a midget anymore, he wasn't going to worry about breaking his glasses anymore and all his scars would disappear. Internally, the discussion was taking a different route.

Why didn't Dumbledore do this for me? He knew about my scars and Madam Pomphrey is always telling me I should be taller as both my parents were tall. The other question is also why others didn't offer this to you. Most wizarding families know of the fighting abilities of Goblins, which is why they are so scared of them. Ron or the twins could have helped. Don't say anything to them straightaway, but remember this and keep it stored away for later. Oh I will, don't worry, I will.

A.N: Let me thank you all for the reviews of the previous chapter so: THANK YOU!

I hope you liked this chapter, I hope I managed to set the basis for Harry being different from other wizards and witches as well as dealing with the internal horcrux.

At the moment, I am in two minds as to when Voldemort will be killed, but I shall resolve that soon enough in my mind. Also, please note that there will be some mild bashing of the Weasleys and Dumbledore.

Even though, this story will be H/Hr, don't expect to get together straight away or even for one of them to admit his/her attraction to the other.


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